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Post-Christmas Winter Decor

We had such a wonderful Holiday season! Starting with Halloween…then an amazing Thanksgiving…and a spectacular Christmas. All filled with wonderful memories that I will cherish…also the reason for my scarce presence here. I often thought about things I should write, but I was just completely consumed by my family…and I was loving it, so I didn’t fight it…I embraced it!

What really blew me away the most? My kids decorated our tree. I have one box of ornaments that contains all of the very most special ornaments…the bells my grandmother gave my mom, that she gave me…the kids handprint snowman ornaments…my small Radko collection…my Hummel from 1979 that Aunt Frances gave me. I hang those high, following my Mom’s lead…realizing it all probably started with keeping them away from my curious little hands. I was amazed at the fantastic job my babies did while I was cooking dinner…I didn’t find my OCD Christmas decorating self wanting to rearrange all of them. Quite the contrary…I found my self smiling as I walked around the tree in utter awe of them. Here are a few shots I got before starting the de-decorating process…

Those sweet little ornaments that they make at school…those times go by so fast! Ethan is already beyond that age :(. He was my ‘director of tree decorations’, when the others put more than one ornament on a branch…he relocated it…such a big guy!

I have to admit, that I really didn’t want to take the tree down. Everytime I looked at it, it made me so happy I nearly cried. All of the memories that are held in that tree, each and every ornament has a story…and now that is coupled with the visions in my mind of my 4 little elves placing all of those memories. It really takes my breath away.

Moving on before I start crying…with all of my Christmas put away, the house looks so empty and boring. I started working on my mantle, playing around with changing out the focal point…I tried replacing the picture of the “Twins at the Fountain in Balboa Park” with what we refer to as “The Album Cover”.

I went with the fountain picture, as much as I love “the album cover” it just wasn’t right for the space. It would have helped if it were oriented in a landscape format rather than portrait format (it needed to be wider than tall). Plus, if I had used it…I would have felt compelled to take down the gallery of pictures hanging on the wall opposite our mantle that are from the same shoot. After playing around for a bit, this is what I came up with…

Sorry about the glare from the upper windows! I liked this, but it just seemed a little boring. I posted the above pic to my FaceBook page…and got some great advice from my childhood friend Marian. I thought about her suggestions, and when I woke up the next morning I was inspired! So, here is the finished (for now 😉 ) product…

I find it much more interesting…a little nature is just what it needed. The bare branches also gave the added height that was missing. I couldn’t get them to stand up just the way I wanted, so I added a scarf of scrap drop cloth…and some vase filler in the form of dry white beans.

On the other side, I added a pottery piece that I think contrasts nicely with the clock and candle holder. The irregularity of the pottery adds some texture, don’t ya think?

Ha!!! I love this post and not just because you gave me a shout out, but more for the sweet stuff about the tree and kiddos that make me tear up. I love the vase and the mantle. Its a beauty and so are you!! xo